I'm just wondering if anyone knows how to get rid of the little arrows on desktop shortcuts. I find them very distracting to look at. I had the same issue with Windows, but I was able to remove them with a program.
Those are symlink icons. They are important and show that the icon leads to something in another location.
This little icon on another icon is an emblem.
Many file managers include a means of managing emblems, allowing you to assign (add) an emblem to an existing folder or file icon to customize it. Some file managers include a setting to disable an emblem already on an icon.
If that is not an option with your O.S.'s default Nautilus (Files) file manager, you can try using a different File Manager like Nemo or you can simply change the actual image file in your preferred icon set emblem-symbolic-link.png or emblem-symbolic-link.svg to a Transparency. For .png, you can use gimp - open the image in Gimp, then ensure that in right click > Layers > Transparency > the alpha channel is added.
Select the entire area with rectangle select and delete (ctl+x) the contents. Then export the file to it's previous location. It will be a transparent image and no longer show the symlink emblem.
For .svg files, you will need to install or use Inkscape to modify an .svg since .svg files are scaler vector graphics, not raster.
This is similar, with Layer > Add layer for transparency, then click save to save the current file.
Once done, reboot to refresh the icon cache.
yes , i know
don't create shortcuts
your welcome
Those steps sound rather complicated. Does anyone know of a slightly simpler way to accomplish getting rid of the shortcut arrows?
Yes:
The complicated part was:
Sometimes, a person needs to put a little effort into getting something special that that want.
Where is this feature to turn off the emblem in the file manager? I not really understanding what you're trying to tell me.
In many file managers, you can right click on the icon that has the emblem (In this case, the symlink emblem) and select Properties.
Then click the Emblems tab to manage the emblem.
I know that the Nautilus file manager that is default in Zorin OS 15 and 16 had this; however, in the latest Zorin OS, the default is Gnome 43 and the newest Nautilus File Manager has several settings and features removed.
In order to check - I tested this momentarily on another Distros that uses the same Nautilus -v 42.6 that Zorin OS uses and I could not find that - but this may be distro specific. Take a look in your file manager.
If it does not offer this feature, you can try a different file manager like Nemo File Manager or Caja File Manager... I use Nemo and I looked and it is present. Right click > Properites. Click on the icon image, then in the left pane - Emblems.
OR
You can alter the image file. While anything might look complicated in listed text instructions, it usually really isn't.
Removing the Shortcut Emblem is a bit of an unusual action.
I get what your saying, but unfortunately I don't have those options available in Zorin 17.1. I managed to download the Thunar File Manager, and it does allow me to add emblems to a folder, but it won't allow me to take away existing emblems.
This may be true for many. Adding or removing your own is one thing... But removing a system applied shortcut emblem is a bit of a different action.
I just retrieved the Zorin Icons file set... and unfortunately, this set includes the emblem-symbolic-link.png file for each size file for the icon. The set is located in /usr/share/icons/Zorin.
This means it uses many copies, depending on the displayed size...
That makes this a bit more tedious because you would need to change all of those files in order to have consistency.
The easiest way I can think of to do this would be to install Pinta and open the file in Pinta. Then modify it as a transparency. Then save the file. Then, resize it for the next folder size that contains it, save it there. Then resize it for the next size down, save, next size down, save... until all are replaced.
That is a bit more tedious, I admit, than my standardized icon sets.
Another option would be to write a script to automate it using ImageMagick but if you are wanting to avoid using an Image Editor, I think scripting is right out the window...
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At least that gives me an option that I can try. I appreciate the help!
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When I first started on GnuLinux, I had similar questions. This led to me modifying some elements of themes and icon sets - to me making and distributing my own themes and icon sets. I can tell you, it was frustrating and daunting starting out learning new things, but as with many things, turned out to be very easy, empowering and liberating.
It also taught other things along the way, including a good understanding of the filesystem and file tree. How to manage and understand permissions.
So a user might just modify an icon set for you or write out a script for you... The reason I choose not to do these things is because it is better and more helpful to you to undertake the learning for yourself.
Good luck. 
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